History
Founded in 1592, 20km west of the silver deposits in Cerro de San Pedro, San Luis is named Potosí after the immensely rich Bolivian silver town of that name, which the Spanish hoped it would rival.
The mines began to decline in the 1620s, but the city was well enough established as a ranching center to remain the major city of northeastern Mexico until overtaken by Monterrey at the start of the 20th century.
Known in the 19th century for its lavish houses and imported luxury goods, San Luis was twice the seat of President Benito Juárez’ government during the 1860s French intervention. In 1910 in San Luis, the dictatorial president Porfirio Díaz jailed Francisco Madero, his liberal opponent, during the presidential campaign. Freed after the election, Madero hatched his Plan de San Luis Potosí (a strategy to depose Díaz), announcing it in San Antonio, Texas, in October 1910; he declared the election illegal, named himself provisional president and designated November 20 as the day for Mexico to rise in revolt – the start of the Mexican Revolution.
San Luis Potosí
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